Category: US Senate

Inspector General’s Report Cites Elaine Chao for Using Office to Help Family

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The Justice Department under the Trump administration declined to open a criminal investigation into the actions by Ms. Chao when she was transportation secretary.

WASHINGTON — While serving as transportation secretary during the Trump administration, Elaine Chao repeatedly used her office staff to help family members who run a shipping business with extensive ties to China, a report released Wednesday by the Transportation Department’s inspector general concluded.

The inspector general referred the matter to the Justice Department in December for possible criminal investigation. But in the weeks before the end of Trump administration, two Justice Department divisions declined to do so.

Ms. Chao, the wife of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, announced her resignation on Jan. 7, the day after the Capitol riot. At the time of her departure, an aide to Ms. Chao said her resignation was unrelated to the inspector general’s investigation. Continue reading.

D.C. Guard chief says ‘unusual’ restrictions slowed deployment of backup during Capitol riot

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The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard told lawmakers Wednesday that restrictions the Pentagon placed on him in the run-up to the Capitol riot and lag time in decision-making by his chain of command prevented him from more quickly sending forces to help quell the violence.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker said his hands were tied by the Pentagon for more than three hours after he received a call from the Capitol Police chief saying a request for backup was imminent, delaying the arrival of military forces at the premises as lawmakers evacuated or barricaded themselves in offices during one of the biggest national security failures since the 9/11 attacks.

Walker described how he had troops ready and waiting to be sent to the Capitol but did not have sign-off from the Pentagon, which in directives ahead of the events had restricted his leeway to respond to contingencies. Continue reading.

Biden limits eligibility for stimulus payments under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats

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Change comes as Senate prepares to move forward on Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill

President Biden has agreed to narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400 stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, a concession to moderate Senate Democrats as party leaders moved Wednesday to lock down support and finalize the sweeping legislation.

Under the new structure, the checks would phase out faster for those at higher income levels compared with the way the direct payments were structured in Biden’s initial proposal and the version of the bill passed by the House on Saturday.

The change came as the Senate prepared to take an initial procedural vote to move forward on the bill as early as Thursday. Biden and Senate Democratic leaders were scrambling to keep their caucus united since they cannot lose a single Democrat in the 50-50 Senate if Republicans unite against the legislation. Continue reading.

Retired Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson tapped as Senate sergeant-at-arms in wake of Capitol attack

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Women also named to deputy and chief of staff posts

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson will be the new Senate sergeant-at-arms, following three decades of active-duty military service, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Wednesday.

Gibson will take over the Senate’s SAA operation at a pivotal moment, as lawmakers are calling for an overhaul of Capitol security and the Capitol Police Board in the wake of the violent insurrection on Jan. 6 that left many questions about preparedness and coordination of response.

Former Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger resigned after the attack on the Capitol, as did his House counterpart, Paul D. Irving, and Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund. Continue reading.

Dems tighten relief benefits, firm up support for virus bill

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed to tighten eligibility limits for stimulus checks Wednesday, bowing to party moderates as leaders prepared to move their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill through the Senate.

At the same time, the White House and top Democrats stood by progressives and agreed that the Senate package would retain the $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits included in the House-passed pandemic legislation. Moderates have wanted to trim those payments to $300 after Republicans have called the bill so heedlessly generous that it would prompt some people to not return to work.

The deal-making underscored the balancing act Democrats face as they try squeezing the massive relief measure through the evenly divided, 50-50 Senate. The package, Biden’s signature legislative priority, is his attempt to stomp out the year-old pandemic, revive an economy that’s shed 10 million jobs and bring some semblance of normality to countless upended lives. Continue reading.

D.C. Guard chief says ‘unusual’ restrictions slowed deployment of backup during Capitol riot

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The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard told lawmakers Wednesday that restrictions the Pentagon placed on him in the run-up to the Capitol riot and lag time in decision-making by his chain of command prevented him from more quickly sending forces to help quell the violence.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker said his hands were tied by the Pentagon for more than three hours after he received a call from the Capitol Police chief saying a request for backup was imminent, delaying the arrival of military forces at the premises as lawmakers evacuated or barricaded themselves in offices during one of the biggest national security failures since the 9/11 attacks.

Walker described how he had troops ready and waiting to be sent to the Capitol but did not have sign-off from the Pentagon, which in directives ahead of the events had restricted his leeway to respond to contingencies. Continue reading.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith Named Chair of Housing, Transportation & Community Development Subcommittee

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Senator Also Named to Securities, Insurance & Investment Subcommittee; Economic Policy Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced that she has been named Chair of a key Senate Banking Subcommittee that oversees important aspects of the nation’s housing, transportation and community development policies.

Sen Smith said Tuesday that besides being tapped to lead the Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee, she will also serve on Securities, Insurance and Investment Subcommittee, and the Economic Policy Subcommittee, as part of serving on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

“We need to stand up for consumers, improve access to public transportation, work to ensure fair access to financial services for all Americans, and make sure every American has a safe, stable, affordable place to live,” said Sen. Smith. “With these goals top of mind, I’m pleased to serve as Chair of the Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee, and serve on the Economic Policy and Securities, and Insurance and Investment Subcommittees. We have important work to do.” 

FBI director says domestic terrorism ‘metastasizing’ throughout U.S. as cases soar

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FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Tuesday defended the bureau’s handling of alarming intelligence leading up to the Jan. 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he has long warned about the rising tide of such threats as the domestic terrorism caseload roughly doubled over the past year.

“We have significantly grown the number of investigations and arrests,” Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee, his first testimony since the riot involving supporters of President Donald Trump. The FBI director testified in September that the number of such cases was about 1,000. By the end of 2020, there were about 1,400 such cases, and after Jan. 6 the figure ballooned again, the director said.

Domestic terrorism “has been metastasizing around the country for a long time now, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Wray said. “Whenever we’ve had the chance, we’ve tried to emphasize that this is a top concern.” Continue reading.

Wray: FBI deemed Jan. 6 attack domestic terrorism

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FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that officials have classified the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by former President Trump‘s supporters as domestic terrorism.

“That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it’s behavior that we, the FBI, view as domestic terrorism,” Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Wray said the FBI has received more than 270,000 tips from Americans that have helped the bureau identify the numerous people who allegedly participated in the attack. Continue reading.

Rhode Island Gov. Raimondo is confirmed as commerce secretary

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New Commerce Dept. chief faced little opposition

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) won Senate confirmation Tuesday as the next U.S. commerce secretary, a post that will thrust her into some of the most contentious economic and security questions confronting the Biden administration.

The Senate easily approved her nomination by a vote of 84 to 15. She is expected to be sworn in Wednesday.

Raimondo, 49, a former venture capitalist who was reelected to her second term as Rhode Island’s chief executive in 2018, will assume command of a federal agency with sweeping responsibilities and an increasingly important portfolio. Long seen as simply a business-friendly outpost in Washington, the department in recent years emerged as an active player in President Donald Trump’s trade wars, while carrying out the decennial census and managing the nation’s weather-monitoring systems. Continue reading.